Cathy and I covered the press conference of American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin (woohoo!) at the Glorietta Activity Center yesterday at 12NN for fudge magazine, one of the country’s leading music and pop culture publications. Suffice it to say that we had one of the most enjoyable, thrilling – yeah, we’re easy to please that way – two hours of our lives. Elliott was THE MAN.
I won’t give full details of Elliott’s Philippine press conference (you can read my article in next month’s issue of fudge, as well as a full-blown piece on www.GannsDeen.com, but I will say the following:
> Elliott Yamin was funny and candid. His rapport with Philippine press conference host Ryan Agoncillo was both charming and amiable. Ryan taught him some Filipino words, which Elliott then brandished with aplomb that same night at his TriNoma mall tour concert. (More on that tomorrow! Super sulet!)
> Elliott Yamin was honest about his life and American Idol experiences, which was truly refreshing. Among his more choice revelations: he showed the audience his insulin pump and he admitted he could probably take Taylor Hicks in a fistfight to a draw.
> The food was catered by the Hotel Intercontinental, which housed Elliott Yamin and his band for their Philippine tour stay. Cathy says the food was good; I didn’t get to eat because I planned my questions.
> I was the first journalist (yeehee!) to ask questions; this was no time to be shy. Elliott answered all my queries, including:
- his unique marketing strategy (i.e., MySpace and bonus track albums);
- why Wait For You was such a huge airplay hit;
- his interaction with his Philippine fans, the Yaminoys; and
- how he feels about the changes in his life now.
Some notes for those of you planning to watch Elliott Yamin’s Philippine tour stops: every Ayala mall tour has different rules. At TriNoma, it was first-come, first-served for seating passes, with a limited number of the first arrivals receiving rights to a signed photo. A purchase of Elliott Yamin from Odyssey Record Bar entitled a limited number of fans to a meet-and-greet pass, which entitled them in turn to a photo op, but no autographs or CD booklet signings. A third option: if you were lucky to purchase the CD and receive an MCA pass, you could then get your CD booklet signed, but you would have to line up again to get that; furthermore, your CD would be signed, but you would not get a photo opportunity. (YES, it was that strict, that confusing, and that frustrating. The real fans – and we met many of them, some lined up at the mall as early as 5AM – did not get autographs and photo ops.)
Oh, and before I forget, welcome, members of the eTrain and Yaminions.com! We’re so pleased you can drop by. Do leave a shout-out for Elliott’s Philippine fans – myself included! – in the comments!
Other Filipino Elliott Yamin fan blog entries of their Elliott Yamin experiences at Trinoma:
My Elliott Yamin Experience (must read! This is my wife. hehehe) | Elliott Yamin at TriNoma Mall | I saw Elliott Yamin at Trinoma Mall | OMG! Elliott Yamin at Trinoma! | The Elliott Yamin Experience | Elliott Yamin | Elliott Yamin at Trinoma | The Fall Out Boy and Elliott Yamin Experience | All I can say is he’s amazing |In Love With ‘E’ Forever | Elliott Yamin’s Philippine Mall Tour | Mahal Ka Rin Namin, Elliott! | Elliott Yamin Reciprocates | Elliot Yamin at Trinoma | Elliott/Russell Mania | I *heart* Elliott Yamin!!! | 2007_09_21 Elliott Yamin @ TriNoma | Elliot Yamin Live at Trinoma | Elliot Yamin at Trinoma | Wait For You: Elliott Yamin @ Glorietta | Singing It Like He Owns It | Elliott Yamin! | yummy Yamin!!! |
(Are you going to the Glorietta, Alabang Town Center, Market Market, or Cebu shows? Send me an email with your blog entry and I’ll link you up!)
Click after the jump to see exclusive GannsDeen.com photos, taken by my beautiful wife, Cathy, who, for some reason, took amazing shot after amazing shot of Elliott Yamin in the Philippines. Iba talaga kapag fan. (It is different when you’re a fan.)
